if he keeps prince "around" until mid-february it's to maximize his and the teams return.
teams either on the edge of play-offs or entering the play-offs with a weakness are the likeliest candidates to 'over-pay' for solid veteran services at the trade deadline.

thats not a weakness it's a strength.

as an aside - when did "veteran respect" become a duo of dirty words?
Prince does deserve respect.. as do most players who have lasted nearly a decade in the NBA.. the guy was the nba's ironman up until last season and no slurs carelessly pecked out on a "fairweather fans" keyboard will change that historical fact.

check yourself..

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And don't think players don't notice that loyalty, too. When you treat your players like human beings worthy of respect and being rewarded for their work, free agents are more likely to sign with you. Make no mistake here - Dumars is the biggest reason free agents will look at Detroit, and its because of the way he treats his players. Some might say they are coddled, but this is a player's league, and they're the breadwinners. He simply knows that better than many other GMs.

And don't think players don't notice that loyalty, too. When you treat your players like human beings worthy of respect and being rewarded for their work, free agents are more likely to sign with you. Make no mistake here - Dumars is the biggest reason free agents will look at Detroit, and its because of the way he treats his players. Some might say they are coddled, but this is a player's league, and they're the breadwinners. He simply knows that better than many other GMs.

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Yeah, that's why the team got big time FA's like BenGo and CharlyV. Honestly, I think the best FA's out there are in it to win it and/or cash but not for respect. That's why you can't attract the big timers like that but the role players, especially if your team is located at a place like Detroit that doesn't seem very desirable (from what I've read in this forum).
Too bad Stern's rule changing ruined the way of playing that allowed hard nosed, superstar-less teams to win.

To me, it makes sense to add T-Mac for basically free. Yes he could turn things around and become a valuable asset. Yes, it makes sense to add a two-time scoring champ for the vet minimum who has a chance to rejuvenate his health and level of play with Arnie Kandor.

if he keeps prince "around" until mid-february it's to maximize his and the teams return.
teams either on the edge of play-offs or entering the play-offs with a weakness are the likeliest candidates to 'over-pay' for solid veteran services at the trade deadline.

thats not a weakness it's a strength.

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A supposed strength. Fans of teams in the same position echo this same thing every year, yet only a few good deals such as this go down at the deadline that are truly beneficial to the trading team. Especially when we are talking expiring contract. At this point we're bordering on making excuses for him. Most would probably love to keep Tay around if we didn't draft young guys who essentially play the same position.

Personally I can't remember the last time a team "overpaid" at the deadline.

And don't think players don't notice that loyalty, too. When you treat your players like human beings worthy of respect and being rewarded for their work, free agents are more likely to sign with you. Make no mistake here - Dumars is the biggest reason free agents will look at Detroit, and its because of the way he treats his players. Some might say they are coddled, but this is a player's league, and they're the breadwinners. He simply knows that better than many other GMs.

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It helps us get past their prime veterans maybe, but not young talent. I'm sure Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva came here because of the respect we showed them. All 94 million dollars of it.

Yeah, that's why the team got big time FA's like BenGo and CharlyV. Honestly, I think the best FA's out there are in it to win it and/or cash but not for respect. That's why you can't attract the big timers like that but the role players, especially if your team is located at a place like Detroit that doesn't seem very desirable (from what I've read in this forum).
Too bad Stern's rule changing ruined the way of playing that allowed hard nosed, superstar-less teams to win.

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I totally agree Sterm's league is different nowadays its all about the NBA darlings going to the free throw line by the defenders looking at them drive the hoop..gone were the days wherein hard nose D or better known as pistons basketball allowed!!!

That's one of the main reasons the Heat and their conspiracy-ettes will be so hard to beat. Wade and James are two of the top 3 or 4 guys in the league, perhaps the very top two, who get super duper deference from the refs. It's pretty disgusting that LeBron gets calls when he just absolutely runs over an opponent at top speed. And Wade is just not allowed to be touched.

They are both superior talents, but the fact that they get the benefit of every call makes it all pretty disgusting to play against them.

Will the refs start to call it more fairly now that these two jerks are on the same team?

Yeah, that's why the team got big time FA's like BenGo and CharlyV. Honestly, I think the best FA's out there are in it to win it and/or cash but not for respect. That's why you can't attract the big timers like that but the role players, especially if your team is located at a place like Detroit that doesn't seem very desirable (from what I've read in this forum).
Too bad Stern's rule changing ruined the way of playing that allowed hard nosed, superstar-less teams to win.

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But that's the point, isn't it? First tier stars like Kobe, Lebron, Wade etc don't care about stuff like Joe's treatment of players, but they don't really need to. Wherever they go, there'll be someone waiting and willing to lay down the red carpet for them. They don't need anybody to watch their back. They get max contracts and they don't give a crap about anybody.

Every other player considers many other things besides money. And Joe's treatment of players does get noticed by other players (at least those that aren't too distracted to notice anything from the sound of how awesome they are).

Lebron, Wade and Bosh are #3, #4, and #7 in the league in total Free Throw Attempts in 2010.

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Which is why those games will be long and 30% of the Heat's points will come from the FT line....Riles was no dummy when he was assembling his stars...there will be instances where these guys will get more FTA than FGA...and the difference in many of their victories will be at the free throw line.

The FTA is an intersting stat. Never realized Maggette was so good at getting to the line.

If you look at average FTAs (per game), LBJ is #2, Wade is #4, Bosh is #6. They'll probably average less since only the one with the ball can be fouled. Normally you'd expect them to average 60% fewer FTA per game each now that they're on the same team.

Rip is #29 with 5.2 per game (shooting at 84.6%) and Stuckey is at #35 with 4.9 per game (shooting at 83.3%). The only two Pistons that are in the top 50.